1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hair clippers and, more particularly, to hair clippers adapted to erect low-lying facial hairs for cutting above the skin line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Implements such as razors or electric shavers for cutting or shaving hair are well known in the prior art. Conventional shaving implements include a handle adapted to be manually held and means for mounting a blade on the handle. Most prior art shaving implements for cutting human facial hair are designed to cut hair as close to the skin line as possible without nicking or cutting the skin. Toward this end, shaving implements have included a reciprocally moving guard member arranged to contact the face of a user so as to move facial hairs against a stationary blade to provide high cutting efficiency and close shaves. An example of such a shaving implement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,154 entitled "Razor With Reciprocating Guard", issued to Alfred J. Pagani, Nov. 11, 1975. However, prior art shaving implements designed to provide a close shave are unsuitable for use by people who suffer from a condition of pseudofolliculitis or superficial inflammation of one or more hair follicles caused by ingrown hairs. It has been determined that hair cut close to or below the skin line tends to aggravate a pseudofolliculitis problem since close cut hairs sometime become ingrown.
Obviously, a shaving implement designed to cut facial hair above the skin line would probably prevent one cause of a pseudofolliculitis condition but would not offer a means for alleviating the problem. For example, shaving implements such as a prior art electric clipper with a stationary cutter normally held in contact with a user's beard are adapted to cut hair above the skin line. However, such a prior art electric clipper would not cut hairs emerging from the skin at a low angle. These low-lying hairs are a cause of pseudofolliculitis when they become ingrown by penetrating the stratum corneum across furrows and crevices in rough skin after about 2 days growth.
Accordingly, an electric shaving implement is arranged to cut hair, including low-lying facial hairs, so that all hairs are cut above the skin line to a length selected to minimize future penetration of the cut hair into the skin.